Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of proposals to revise the costs capping scheme for environmental legal challenges on ease of access to redress through the courts.

The proposals to revise the costs capping scheme for environmental legal challenges in England and Wales do not seek to make environmental justice less accessible. The Ministry of Justice will continue to keep their impact under review as part of its consideration of the consultation responses. We will also carry out a full impact assessment and this will be published as part of the government’s response paper. The Ministry of Justice has due regard to its duties under the Equalities Act 2010, and has carried out an initial equality impact assessment prior to publishing the consultation document. This will be reviewed as part of the response paper.